Revue culturelle N°94

Writer Rita El Khayat has been awarded a prize in Rome as part of the Stand Out Woman International Prize for her commitment to the emancipation of women at national and regional level.

Organised by the PromAzioni360 and Femmes Culture & Territoire associations, the event aims to promote "the voice of women who carry out extraordinary actions in their ordinary lives".

The 9addat Association announces the release of a new podcast entitled "Documentaires 9addat". Produced by the young Oumayma Zekri Ajarrai, this audio mini-series highlights the experiences of everyday heroines who are all too often invisible. The first episode focuses on women in rural areas of the Kingdom, the second on Tbourida riders, and the final episode contrasts "white collars" and "blue collars" to explore the theme of Moroccan women at work.

The podcast was launched in September 2019 by Oumayma Zekri Ajarrai, a media and innovation consultant. She is a founding member of the Onorient collective, with whom she co-produced the documentary "Rihla - sur les sentiers culturels du monde arabe" and the radio programme "Paris-Alexandria".

Inaugurated on 20 October last year to mark the opening of the gallery of the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs in Marrakech, the exhibition "L'art et la verticalité" ("Art and Verticality") by painter Mohamed Mourabiti has been extended until next March, as part of the programme for Marrakech, Cultural Capital of the Islamic World 2024.

With texts by Moroccan and foreign poets, artists and art critics such as Adonis, Edmond Amran El Maleh, Mustapha Nissaboury and Rajae Benchemsi, "Mourabiti's works offer a dialogue between heaven and earth, between matter and spirituality" - extract from the press release.

The 14th edition of the Festival will feature twenty-three Amazigh films and sixteen films from the Issni N'Ourgh international competition, between 7 and 11 December in Agadir.

Amazigh films in competition:

• "Myopia" by Sanaâ Akroud
• "The Tattooed" by Mohamed Zaghou
• "Sound of Berberia" by Tarik El Idrissi
• "Cloches de Toumliline, une Histoire de bénédictins au Maroc" by Hamid Derrouich
• "Scattering Thorns" by Nassim Abassi
• "Aït Ishaq" by Selim Haase
• "Memoria indigena, tradiciones ancestrales Canarias" by Antonio Bonny Farray and Pablo Rodriguez Alonso.
• "Empty glass" by Yassine Iguenfer
• "Iman irufan" by Masoud Bougern
• "Tremors" by Nicolas Jacquette
• "Azetta" by Djamal Bacha
• "Ijja" by Rachid Elhazmir.

The festival will also feature professional and cultural events at the Sahara cinema, the Faculty of Languages, Arts and Humanities, and the new cultural platforms (the cultural zaouïas) in the Tiznit region.

Entitled "27", this new album is a direct reference to the age of Moroccan rapper Taha El Fahssi - aka El Grande Toto - but also recalls 27 May 2016, the day his house in Benjdia burnt down.

The album is made up of 17 tracks and comes out three weeks after the track 'Weld Laadoul', which has already racked up over 4 million views. El Grande Toto also features Rondodasosa, Unknown T, Ben JR, Oxlade, Morad and Hamza. In English, French and Moroccan dialect Arabic (Darija), the album has topped the Moroccan charts on Spotify, and is also enjoying success in Spain, Malta, Belgium, France, Italy, Turkey, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

The singer unveils her new song, composed and written by Tarik Hilal. It's a love song in keeping with the artist's musical genre, which still promotes traditional Moroccan melodies, thanks in particular to the oud. The artist offers a romantic clip in the moonlight, celebrating the Moroccan heritage through its landscapes but also its calligraphy.

The D'art Dar gallery displays thirty works hosted by the capital's Café Robuchon. Visitors can discover the work of Aziz Benja, Noureddine Daifellah, Saad Ben Cheffaj, Mohamed Melehi, Mahi Binebine, Lmaia Miriam Skiredj, Meki Megara, Mohamed Abouaeloukar, Nourddine Chater, Mohamed Mansouri Idrissi and many others.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will be holding its next Regional Conference for Africa (ARC33) from 18 to 20 April 2024 in Rabat. The theme of the conference will be "Resilient agrifood systems and inclusive rural transformation", and it will bring together the major players in the sustainable economy and environmental protection in Africa. The 33rd session will take place on the eve of the Moroccan International Agricultural Show, scheduled for 22-28 April 2024 in Meknes.

Since its launch in 2022, the Moroccan government-funded entrepreneurship programme has received more than 300,000 applications.

Women represent 45% of the beneficiaries of "Forsa" 2023, an increase of 20 points compared to the first edition. There has also been a marked improvement in participation from rural areas and small towns, reaching 69% of beneficiaries, with balanced regional representation throughout the Kingdom.

The programme is committed to offering post-financing follow-up to its 21,200 beneficiaries over a period of 2 years, with the aim of fostering their growth, creating more jobs and inspiring other young entrepreneurs to take up entrepreneurship.

The 16th Festival of Oasis Cultures will be held in Figuig from 1 to 3 December. The aim of the event is to highlight not only the cultural heritage of Morocco's oases, but also their potential for the kingdom's economic development.

Craft fairs, exhibitions, round tables and seminars will be held over three days.

In a statement to MAP, Eric Falt, director of the UNESCO Maghreb office, said he was delighted to welcome the city of Casablanca to the UNESCO Creative Cities network, and more specifically to the Digital Arts category, which currently includes almost 300 member cities.

The second Women's Rights Film Week is being held from 27 November to 1 December in Rabat, with the aim of highlighting the fight against violence and discrimination against women.

Organised by the United Nations in Morocco in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication and with the support of the Association des rencontres méditerranéennes du cinéma et des droits de l'Homme and the HIBA Foundation, the event is part of the annual global campaign "16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence".

The Tetouan National Institute of Fine Arts organises the third Tetouan Design Event from 29 November to 1 December at the Tetouan Centre for Modern Art. The event brings together designers, entrepreneurs, experts and enthusiasts. Africa is in the spotlight at this year's event, and a tribute will be paid to designer Younes Duret. Meetings, round tables and exhibitions are planned.

The mayors of Tangier, Mounir Laymouri, and Barcelona, Jaume Callboni, have reaffirmed their "determination to give new impetus" to the collaboration between the two cities. Several projects will be unveiled in 2024.

Thirteen of the 213 entries received were awarded prizes.

The Scientific and Technical Research Prize went to Taoufik Moussaoui and Mehdi El Khatibi. In the "Media" category, the prize was awarded to Abdessamad Adniden of the daily Bayan Al Yaoum, Mohammed Aamira of the Société nationale de radiodiffusion et de télévision, Soumia Al Arkoubi of Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse and Sofia Fagroud of the Agence Maghreb Arabe Presse.

The Associative Action Prize went to the Association of Teachers of Life and Earth Sciences and the AICHA Association for Local Development and the Environment, while Centrale Danone won the Entrepreneurial Initiatives Prize.

In the "Initiatives by local authorities" category, the prize went to the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra regional council and the Moulay Abdellah municipality. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Resident Abroad, and Justice, for their part, won the Prize for Exemplary Administration.

The Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication has revealed the list of plays shortlisted to compete for prizes at the 23rd edition, to be held from 8 to 15 December in Tetouan.

The plays selected are:

• « Celle qui a dit non », Théâtre universitaire de Casablanca;
• « La Victoria », troupe Nicolò Accion;
• « Toulouâ Ar-Rrouh », troupe Théâtre de Poche;
• « Takanza : l’histoire de Touda », troupe Lanternes;
• « Ichawchawen », troupe Thifswin;
• « Khoulkhal wa Ghourbal », troupe Phanoramic;
• « Extasia », troupe interculturelle;
• « Fataîr At-toufah », troupe Douz T’masrah;
• « Asturias », Association Yuba de créativité théâtrale;
• « Soukout Al-ward », troupe Africanisme;
• « Al-fatoura », Marrakech Comedia.

The Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication has revealed the list of plays shortlisted to compete for prizes at the 23rd edition, to be held from 8 to 15 December in Tetouan.

The plays selected are:

• « Celle qui a dit non », Théâtre universitaire de Casablanca;
• « La Victoria », troupe Nicolò Accion;
• « Toulouâ Ar-Rrouh », troupe Théâtre de Poche;
• « Takanza : l’histoire de Touda », troupe Lanternes;
• « Ichawchawen », troupe Thifswin;
• « Khoulkhal wa Ghourbal », troupe Phanoramic;
• « Extasia », troupe interculturelle;
• « Fataîr At-toufah », troupe Douz T’masrah;
• « Asturias », Association Yuba de créativité théâtrale;
• « Soukout Al-ward », troupe Africanisme;
• « Al-fatoura », Marrakech Comedia.

The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference opened on 30 November, chaired by Sultan al-Jaber, who is also CEO of the national oil company Adnoc.

More than 97,000 people (delegations, media, NGOs, lobbies, organisers, technicians, etc.) have been accredited, twice as many as last year, and around 180 heads of state and government are expected to attend.

The Sheikh Zayed Book Prize has announced the shortlisted authors in two new categories.

Literature and Art Criticism Category

• Tareekh al-Ghinaa' al-Shaabi min al-Mawal ila ar-Rap' (History of the Folk Song from Mawal to Rap), by Dr. Yasser Thabet (Egypt)
• Adonis fi al-Ibdaa wal-Tatheer al-Shi'ri' (Adonis in Creative and Poetic Theorisation), by Dr Hassane Al Ghorfi (Moroc)
• 'Falsafat al-Lugha wa-Su'al al-Meana: Bahth fi Simya'iyat al-Istiaara al-Fanniya' (The Philosophy of Language and the Quest for Meaning: An Exploration of Metaphorical Artistic Semiotics), by Souad Hamadache (Algeria)
• 'Zawaj al-Mubdi'een: Tharaa' al-Mutakhayal wa-Faqr al-Waqeh' (The Matrimony of Creators: Where Imagination Abounds and Reality Wanes), by Chawki Bzih (Lebanon)
• 'Naqd an-Naqd al-Thaqafi: Ru'ya fi Musa'alat al-Mafaheem wal-Dabt al-Maarifi' (Critiquing Cultural Critique: A Gaze into the Jurisdiction of Concepts and Cognitive Mastery), by Abduladheem Al-Sultani (Iraq)
• 'Iaadat Binaa' an-Nathariya an-Naqdiya min al-Manthoor al-Shaklani ila Maaqool al-Khitab' (The Reconstruction of Critical Theory from a Formalist Perspective to a Rational Discourse), by Abdelfattah Ahmed Youssef (Egypt)
• 'Aanadil Hajariya' (Stone Nightingales), by Adi Jaser Alherbish (Saudi Arabia)
• 'Kul Da Kan Leeh (Sardiya Naqdiya aan Al-Ughniya was-Sadara' (Kol Dah Kan Leih: A Critical Narrative About Songs and Prominence), by Fayrouz Karawya (Egypt)
• 'Al-Insan fi Riaayat al-Kaynoona: Heidegger fi al-Mutanawal al-Falsafi al-Arabi' (Humanity in the Care of Ontology: Heidegger in Arab Philosophical Discourse), by Mouchir Bassil Aoun (Lebanon)
• 'Banat Awa wal-Huroof al-Mafqooda: Aan al-Hayawanat al-Natiqa fi Lahathat al-Khatar' (Jackals and Lost Letters: About Animals Speaking in Moments of Danger), by Haytham El Wardany (Egypt)
• 'Kitab al-Masafat: Muqaraba Naqdiya fi Jadaliyat al-Qurb wal-Buud' (The Book of Distances: A Critical Approach to the Dialectic of Proximity and Distance), by Yasin Al-Nasayyir (Iraq)

United Nations Development Category :

• 'Al-Asmaa' al-Jughrafiya - Thakirat Ajyal' (Geographical Names - Legacy of Generations), by Dr. Khalifa Alromaithi (UAE)
• 'Ad-Deen fi al-Fikr al-Falsafi wal-Ijtimaii al-Hadeeth' (Religion in Modern Philosophical and Social Thought), by Dr. Abdelilah Daal (Morocco)
• 'Al-Madrasa wal-Thakaa' (School and Intelligence), by Dr. M'barek Rabi (Morocco)
• 'An-Naqlat al-Hadariya al-Kubra: Ayna Nahnu Minha?' (Major Civilisational Leaps: Where Do We Stand?), by Dr. Mustapha Hijazi (Lebanon)
• 'Falsafat al-Amn: Nathariyat Epistemolojiya Tatbiqat Sociolojiya' (The Philosophy of Security: Epistemological Theories and Sociological Applications), by Dr. Ramzi Mahouachi (Tunisia)
• 'Sikkat al-Tramway: Tareeq al-Hadatha Marra bi-Dimashq' (Tramway Railway: The Path of Modernity Passed Through Damascus), by Sami Marwan Moubayed (Syria)
• A'l-Mushtarak al-Ibrahimi wal-Hiwar al-Hadari' (Abrahamic Commonality and Civilised Dialogue), by Salah Salem (Egypt)
• 'Al-Bayniya fi al-Academia al-Arabiya wal-Islamiya' (Interdisciplinary Studies in Arabic and Islamic Academia), by Ali Alsalah Moula (Tunisia)
• 'Al-Arabiya Lughat al-Aayn: Dirasa Dalaliya Uurfaniya' (The Arabic Language: A Study of Cognitive Semantics), by Dr. Fatima Bakouch (Tunisia).

The Sheikh Zayed Book Prize was established in 2006 with the aim of promoting Arab literature and culture, while honouring the achievements of creative thinkers in the fields of books, the arts and the humanities, in Arabic and other languages.

This 18th edition of the Sheikh Zayed Prize received a record 4,240 nominations from 74 countries.

The 9th edition is dedicated to the Palestinian cause, with Indonesia as guest country, from Wednesday 29 November to Sunday 3 December.

The competition features a selection of 24 films, including 11 documentaries and 13 short fiction films, focusing on the theme of Palestinian resistance. The films, directed by Arab filmmakers, represent 13 countries, including Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, France and Tunisia.

An exhibition of Libyan art entitled "Water's Call" is held from 1 to 22 December at the Centre National d'art vivant de Tunis, Dar El Founoun, in collaboration with the Iskender Art House gallery in Tripoli.

The issue of illegal immigration will be at the heart of the works exhibited by a duo of artists, Najla El Fitouri and Youssef Fatis.

The official competition for the 24th edition of the Journées Théâtrales de Carthage is made up of 11 shows produced by professional Tunisian, Arab and African theatres.

The plays in the running for the JTC Tanits represent Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates.

The plays selected are:

ESCAPING REPENTANCE
Abdelwahed Mabrouk (Tunisia)

THE FARM
Ghazi Zaghbani (Tunisia)

LAND OF DEMENTIA
Houssine Mokhtar (Algeria)

MUTE
Sulayman Al Bassam (Kuwait)

ANTIGONE
Hakim Harb (Jordan)

CHAMS
Amin Boudrika (Morocco)

LAST VERDICT
Raoudha Cherif (Egypt)

TRAVEL
Meher Salibi (Syria)

GOOD MAN'S SONG
Mohannad Karim (United Arab Emirates)

HOPE
Jaouad Assadi
National Theatre Troupe (Iraq)

Eighteen Arab and European poets take part in the 43rd edition of the international poetry festival in Tozeur, organised on 23, 24 and 25 November 2023, in tribute to Palestine and the Palestinian cause.

The first edition of the Abdelhamid Kheraief prize for creativity awarded its first prize on Friday to the Arab poet Mahmoud AL-Absi, for his collection "Mechraton tahta allisan", winner of the previous edition of the Tozeur international poetry festival.

The League of African Women Writers, created on 9 March 2023 in Morocco, held its first meeting on Tuesday at the Cité de la Culture in Tunis.

Several women writers took part in this meeting, which was dedicated to the national leagues of women writers in four North African countries, including Morocco, Libya, Mauritania and Tunisia.

The League of African Women Writers is chaired by Moroccan Badiaa Radi, who chaired the preparatory committee for the founding Congress of the League of African Women Writers. This writer and journalist is also the President of the Moroccan League of Women Writers.

The League of African Women Writers is intended as a forum for South-South cooperation, giving a voice to women writers from the continent on a wider scale by publicising their works regionally and internationally.

The visual artist died on Wednesday in Ain Turck (Oran) at the age of 69.

This Lebanese duo is composed of Tony el-Khoury, singer and lute player, and Youssef Helayel, guitarist and music teacher. They chose this name, Adoon, which means "lord" in Phoenician and is one of the most important Canaanite gods, Adonis. They have just released their first track, in Phoenician, a prelude to their forthcoming album, which also bears the same name: 'Adoon'. For this track, they were inspired by "The Hymn to Nikkal", addressed to the goddess of fertility, which is part of a collection of 36 Hourrite songs engraved in cuneiform script on the famous clay tablets of Ugarit. This hymn is considered to be the oldest known example of musical notation in the world.

Two online initiatives, "Pictures for Palestine" and "I Wish to Photograph Beauty", offer sales of works in aid of the victims of Gaza.

"Pictures for Palestine" is the initiative of a group of creative people based in London. 150 artists are participate in the project, and the profits from the sale of their photographs are donated to the NGO Medical Aid for Palestinians. The photo gallery is available online. It includes works by Cindy Sherman, who has donated one of her "twisted portraits" from 2021 online. There are also photographs by Esther Theaker, Oliver Hadlee Pearch and Alice Neale, who have repeatedly documented Beirut.

The second of these fundraising initiatives waslaunched by Gulf Photo Plus, the leading photography centre based in the United Arab Emirates (and serving the wider Swana region). It is called "I Wish to Photograph Beauty". The online platform features images mainly by Palestinian photographers, such as Fatima Shbeir, who shows a group of young Palestinian women celebrating Fitr in Gaza, and Maen Hammad, who shows a photo of a small watermelon growing on her grandmother's vine in Helhoul in the occupied West Bank, Samar Abou Elouf, who documents through her photos days of happiness in Gaza, and Tanya Habjouqa, who delivers a poignant portrait of the young Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi. online, on retrouve donc essentiellement les images de photographes palestiniens, tels Fatima Shbeir qui propose l’image d’un groupe de jeunes palestiniennes célébrant le Fitr à Gaza, Maen Hammad, qui montre la photo d’une petite pastèque poussant sur une vigne de sa grand-mère à Helhoul en Cisjordanie occupée, Samar Abou Elouf, qui documente à travers sa photo des jours de bonheur à Gaza, ou encore Tanya Habjouqa, qui livre un portrait poignant de la jeune militante palestinienne Ahed Tamimi.

Photo: "Sheikh Ijlin Beach, Gaza City, Palestine", by Simon Roberts, 2003.

Éric Chacour has been awarded the Prix Femina des lycéens for his first novel, Ce que je sais de toi. The book was published in January by Alto in Canada and in August by Philippe Rey in France. It tells the story of a French-speaking Egyptian doctor who discovers his homosexuality and emigrates to Montreal.

3.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify (one of the most listened-to French-speaking artists after Aya Nakamura and Angèle) and almost 2 million subscribers on TikTok. This is Najoua Laamri, aka Nej'. She released her first album, Enchantés, in 20019, and has since been working with a host of artists including Naps, Lartiste and Zaho. Her pop music includes Rn'B and oriental tunes.

"A culture, an ecosystem, a nation, a people and even a building can disappear in a given period of time, but there are always ways of reappearing, transforming impermanence into an opportunity for transmutation. Based on this premise, Lebanese art critic and curator Nayla Tamraz and her Argentinian counterpart Florencia Incarbone have put together the Bienalsur video programme. In other words, a selection of works by filmmakers and artists from the countries of the South, in particular Latin America, Lebanon and Turkey, based on the theme of "Ways of Vanishing".

Presented in Beirut, at the Sursock Museum, from Saturday evening 25 November at 5pm over 4 days of screenings (on 27, 28 and 29 November at 6pm), the programme features a host of moving images that offer "an aesthetic exploration of the process of vanishing and question the ways in which this evanescent condition can be approached". On the Lebanese side, the programme includes works by Akram Zaatari, Fouad el-Khoury, Cynthia Zaven, Ali Cherri and the HadjiThomas Joreige duo.

Métro al-Madina inaugurates 'FãSL', a solo 'movement performance' by actress and choreographer Nivine Kallas. It is a creation based on "the links between the diacritical marks of the Arabic language and the movements of the body. The diacritical marks are the fatha, the dammé, the kasra and the skoun. Inspired by the movements of the mouth as they are pronounced (the fatha, for example, induces openness, while the dammé brings the lips together...), the young woman transposes them into body and stage movements" - press release.

An experimental performance that is, as its title suggests, a "parenthesis" in the Metro al-Madina programme, a show that is the antithesis of the usual cabarets.

On Netflix on 13 December, this season heralds the return of Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Lojain Omran, Kris Fade, Ebrahim Al-Samadi, Loujain Adada, Safa Siddiqui and DJ Bliss. Iraqi beauty star Mona Kattan joins the cast.

The festival is set to take place from 14 to 21 December after being postponed twice due to the "events" unfolding in Gaza.

This sixth edition, in collaboration with the Palestinian Film Institute, will be devoted to Palestinian cinema. A charity dinner is also planned to support humanitarian aid in Gaza.

The feature film competition will feature the following films from the MENA region:

• "Birdland" by Leila Kilani (Morocco)
• "The Shanabs" by Ayten Amin (Egypt)
• "Transient Happiness" by Sina Mouhammed (Iraq).

The restaurant reflects on modern and historical patterns of Arab migration through a series of art installations.
Exhibitions include work by Lebanese artist Rumi Dalle, known for her collaboration with luxury brands such as Hermes, Boghossian and Iwan Maktabi. Other artists involved in the project include German carpet artist Jan Kath and Lebanese Armenian designer Karen Chekerdjian.

With three installations, the restaurant aims to pay tribute to the migratory experience of Arabs who settled in South America during the 19th century and those who are still migrating around the world. The works are for sale.

The latest edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival is scheduled to run from 30 November to 10 December in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The list of short films in competition is available here.

As for the Arab feature films in competition, here they are

• "The Teacher" by Farah Nabulsi (Palestine)
• "Six Feet Over" by Karim Bensalah (Algeria)
• "Norah" by Tawfik Alzaidi (Saudi Arabia)
• "Mandoob" by Ali Kalthami (Saudi Arabia)
• "Inshallah a boy" by Amjad Al Rasheed (Jordan)
• "Hiding Saddam Hussein" by Halkawt Mustafa (Iraq)
• "Dalma" by Humaid Alsuwaidi (United Arab Emirates)
• "Behind the Mountains" by Mohamed Ben Attia (Tunisia)
• "Backstage" by Afef Ben Mahmoud and Khalil Benkirane (Morocco, Tunisia).

The festival is chaired by writer, director and producer Baz Luhrmann, joined for the feature films by Swedish-American actor Joel Kinnaman, actress Freida Pinto, Egyptian actress Amina Khalil and Spanish actress Paz Vega.

Manar Abu Dhabi is an artistic initiative running from 15 November to 30 January. The idea is to transform the country's landscapes through 35 works of art. Meaning 'lighthouse' in Arabic, Manar is a cultural milestone for the city, according to curator Reem Fadda, who is also Director of Cultural Programming and the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation, and Artistic Director of Public Art Abu Dhabi. The theme of this first immersive edition is 'Grounding Light'.

The 35 new works include pieces by Mohammed Kazem, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Samia Halaby, Ala Edris and Carsten Holler, among others.

One of the most impressive works is 'Self Similar' by American artist Jim Denevan, who has created dozens of pyramids made of sand just outside the city. The installation echoes 'Angle of Repose' - a piece the artist created in the ancient desert region of AlUla in Saudi Arabia for Desert X in 2022.

The King Abdelaziz Falconry Festival has begun at the headquarters of the Saudi Falcons Club in Malham, north of Riyadh, where elite falcon owners from Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and around the world are taking part in the event, which runs until 14 December. The festival was initially created in 2019, with the aim of preserving "this cultural and civilisational heritage of the Kingdom" - press release.

With 1,723 participants, its first edition entered the Guinness World Records as the world's largest falconry competition. The second event, later the same year, followed suit, with 2,350 falcons taking part.

DRP Choir is a group of young musicians from the wilaya of Bordj Bou Arreridj, in eastern Algeria. The group recently created a buzz on TikTok after its cover of "Bachtola" by Djamel Sabri, also known as "Djo". This interpretation of Chaoui rock has racked up nearly 1.3 million views.

"Of the twelve members of the group, four are fluent in Chaoui and they have worked hard to pay tribute to the Amazigh song and culture," one of the singers told regional media Aures News.

The exhibition runs until 13 April 2024. "At the Edge of Land" is a group exhibition which explores the complex and often hidden relationships between landscapes and commerce. The exhibition addresses issues of geography, resources and raw materials.

With works by Jananne Al-Ani, Tarek Al Ghoussein, Iosu Aramburu, Au Sow Yee, Chihoi, Bady Dalloul, Aref El Rayess, Daniele Genadry, Ho Rui An, Hiwa K, Ranjit Kandalgaonkar, Lala Rukh, Hira Nabi, Sarker Protick, Sim Chi Yin, Joar Songcuya, You Khin and Zarina.

Two artists explore the notion of infinity in an exhibition at the Third Line Gallery in Dubai entitled 'Duality'.

Jason Seife, born in the United States of Syrian and Cuban immigrant parents, has used the complex patterns of traditional Persian carpets and various ornaments. Nabavi, an Iranian-American who grew up in the United Arab Emirates, proposes overlapping geometric designs.

While each of their works can be appreciated independently of the others, they are brought together in a single work entitled 'Noon'. Both Sefie's and Nabavi's works explore infinity with an extreme level of precision and attention to detail.

The organisers of the annual literary festival, which runs from 31 January to 6 February, have revealed some of the authors who will be taking part in the event.

These include Egyptian novelist Miral Al Tahawy, whose novel 'Tales from the City of the Rising Sun' has been shortlisted for the 2023 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, and whose autobiographical novel "Brooklyn Heights" won the 2010 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, will also be in attendance. Award-winning Egyptian poet and Prince of Poets TV finalist Ahmed Bakheet will also take to the stage, while the first figure skater from the UAE and the region to compete at world level, Zahra Lari, is set to launch her children's book "Not Yet: The Story of an Unstoppable Skater".

Arab authors returning to the festival include Kuwaiti novelist Saud Alsanoussi, winner of the 2013 International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his novel 'The Bamboo Stem', and Emirati author and poet Ali Abu Al Reesh, best known for his novel 'The Confession'.

For more information, visit www.emirateslitfest.com

Photo: Ahlam Bolooki, Director of the Emirates Airline Literature Festival. Photo: Emirates Literary Foundation.

Seven international artists, whose work is exhibited in five venues across Wales, have a chance to win the UK's largest international contemporary art prize. For its 10th anniversary, Artes Mundi is venturing beyond its usual Cardiff venue, presenting the work of seven artists in five venues across Wales, including the capital. It is also partnering London's Bagri Foundation for the first time.

The artists in competition include:

Mounira Al Solh, who lives between Lebanon and the Netherlands. She displays artworks dedicated to Syrian refugees, as part of a series of 500 portraits accompanied by conversations she had with them in 2012, when the war in Syria broke out.

Kurdish-born artist Rushdi Anwar, who also exhibits at Cardiff National Museum, looks at the last hundred years of colonialism in the Middle East in his solo show. One room contains archival documents, with an old radio broadcasting a mixture of colonial speeches and propaganda from 1916 (the Sykes-Picot agreements).

"The maps of the region were drawn in a London office by people who didn't understand the cultural context, the different ethnic groups or the complexities of the region," explains the artist (The National).

A second room shows twelve boxes, each with a burnt photo of a destroyed church in Bashiqa, north-east of Mosul. Disputed between the Kurdish and Iraqi governments, Mosul was once under British and French colonial rule and more recently looted and destroyed by the Islamic State.

Artist Alia Farid (Kuwait) focuses on cultural and commercial networks in the Gulf. Two films explore these issues in greater depth, featuring teenagers talking about their lives as they travel through swamps scarred by oil infrastructure and industrial waste.

Photo: "A night hour, as long as night" by Mounira Al Solh (2023) exhibited at the National Museum Cardiff. Photo: Polly Thomas.

Vernis Rouge first launched "Femme nue", her EP released in January 2023. Corps sauvage", an equally sensual mini-album, was released on 28 September. Love, desire, the body and femininity are the favourite themes of the 24-year-old Franco-Lebanese singer, set to a pop sound.

"Soft Shields" is a project presented by the Tanit gallery in Beirut, born in the aftermath of the explosion in the port of Beirut. It weaves together stories gathered during fieldwork by artist Jad El Khoury.

"Walking through the worst-affected streets, the artist met the owners and collected their stories, testimonies and experiences of 4 August 2020. El Khoury has transformed the remains into an immersive installation, blending the personal stories of the residents with the symbolic significance of Beirut's typical landmarks: the balcony curtains. Visitors are invited to wander through the installation and encounter the stories and textiles up close." - press release.

The author has been awarded the prize for his first novel, "Je me souviens de Falloujah", published by JC Lattès. The jury praised "a moving novel about amnesia and the rediscovery of memory between France and Iraq, about the complex yet tender relationship between a father and his son, about exile and the memories of a country torn apart... with great finesse, tenderness, intelligence and humour".

Feurat Alani, who has already won this year's Senghor Prize and the Version Femina novel prize for his novel, succeeds Tunisian writer Yamen Manai, winner of the Arab Literature Prize in 2022 for his novel Bel Abîme.

At the same time, the Arab Literature Prize for High School Students was awarded to Abdelkrim Saifi for his novel "Si j'avais un franc". Created this year, the €4,000 prize for Arabic literature by secondary school students is awarded by nearly 120 students from general, technological and vocational secondary schools in the Académie de Versailles, who read and voted for their favourite book from the final selection.

The Arab Literature Prize was created in 2013 by the Jean-Luc Lagardère Foundation and the Arab World Institute, and is endowed with €10,000.

"You Will Not Dive Alone", a short documentary by Omani director Fahd al Maimani, surprised the jury by winning first prize. The film tells the story of the daily lives of Omani sailors, with immersive scenes recounting the diversity of the sultanate's seabed.

The festival saw the participation of several international films from countries including Spain, Russia, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Iraq.

Kaouther Ben Hania's film "Four Daughters" won the prize for best documentary at the annual Gotham Awards 2023 ceremony for independent films, held in New York on Monday.

Ben Hania's film, produced by Habib Attia and Nadim Cheikhrouhou, combines documentary and fiction. The film continues to win awards at international festivals, and will represent Tunisia in the race for the Oscars.

The Joint Commission of Algerian and French historians responsible for the work of remembrance on French colonisation and the Algerian War held its first official meeting on Wednesday 22 November in Constantine.

It was agreed that "2 million digital documents on the colonial period, 29 rolls and 13 registers, making up 5 metres of the remaining archives relating to the Ottoman period, i.e. before 1830" would be handed over to Algeria.

The Jordanian singer has died.